Why Reaching Out to Fellow Caregivers is Good for You (and Your Practice)
Holistic healthcare is pioneering work. Today,
thousands of people across New England practice independently a variety of
powerful approaches to healing, from acupuncture to zero balancing. But being a
pioneer can be a lonely undertaking at times. Most of us who work in the
alternative health field are not members of large, well-organized, and
handsomely funded professions like in conventional medicine. We tend to work on
our own or in small groups of practitioners, with few regular professional
contacts.
Combating isolation is sufficient reason enough to connect with other caregivers
whose work you respect. I know of many holistic professionals who routinely meet
up to socialize or to exchange treatments with one another.
Here are some more reasons for making case that getting more connected to other
healthcare practitioners is to everyone’s benefit:
Working together is good for your practice. Agreeing with another
healthcare professional to refer clients to one other is a simple and classic
way to work together for mutual benefit. So is saving money by sharing office
space or advertising space. Are there other caregivers out there who want to cut
their costs and expand their marketing in these ways? You bet. Start by getting
to know the caregivers who work near you, and exploring simple ways you can
support each other’s businesses. You can find them through your local Chamber of
Commerce, or they may be advertising in this magazine or other holistic
publications.
Working together is good for your clients. It may not be obvious, but you
and the other caregivers whom a client of yours regularly sees (be they
conventional or alternative) are all members of your client’s “healing
community”. And if you want to be good community members and provide the best
care possible to your client, you ought to be talking to each other, or at least
aware of the role that each of you plays in helping your client on their
wellness path. Making sure you’re working as a team and not at cross-purposes is
particularly important when your client is faced with a serious or
life-threatening medical condition. With your client’s permission, you can mail
your “colleagues in healing” your practice information, and follow up with a
friendly phone call to see if working more closely together might benefit
everyone.
Working together is good for your professional development. You can learn
much about healing by connecting with caregivers who have a different background
than your own. Like the fable of the blind men who only understand the different
parts of the elephant and fail to grasp its wholeness, it is easy for
alternative therapists practicing on their own to comfortably lose themselves in
their own worldviews. Sharing your thoughts—and sometimes disagreeing—with other
caregivers of different backgrounds is a great way to test your assumptions,
help your clients with the hardest-to-treat conditions, and see your work in a
broader and fuller context. Much common ground exists among healers of any
background who work with compassion and are willing to listen. This common
ground is the heart of healing. A local organization dedicated to exploring this
common ground is the Integrative Medicine Alliance (www.IntegrativeMedAlliance.org).
The IMA hosts discussions and networking gatherings, and invites caregivers of
all backgrounds to attend (full disclosure: I founded the organization).
Working together combats the myth of scarcity. All too often, holistic
caregivers fall into the trap of fearing that if they work together they will
lose clients to one another. This impoverished mindset is unhealthy and
self-fulfilling. Given the extent of physical, emotional, and spiritual
suffering inhabiting our world today, it’s obvious to me that holistic
caregivers are needed like never before. The real scarcity out there is in our
capacity to imagine ways of helping our clients understand how important our
services can be in improving their quality of life. One of the best ways to
practice the truth of abundance is by promoting the caregivers whose work you
respect. The universe will notice the favor you are doing and will return it, in
its fashion.
Remember, there are people, businesses and networks out there that want to know
you and want your practice to flourish—they just have to be asked. By reaching
out to the right people, you can advance your professional goals, grow your
practice with greater ease, reinvigorate your skills and sense of purpose, and
feel part of a larger whole.
First published in Boston Natural Awakenings magazine's February 2006 "Ask Karlo" column.
Contact Whole Health Solutions for help creating holistic community in your part of the
country.
2009 Karlo Berger. Some rights reserved. Website Design by Solid Uncoated.
Thanks to Hannah Burr, Kristin Granli, and Jim Kelly.